How to nail customer service on social media

Good customer service isn’t just about solving problems – it’s about making people feel good.

Why? Because taking care of your customers is the best way to encourage them to continue using your products and services, as well as motivate recommendations and positive reviews. And with digital customer service set to overtake telephone contact by 2017, now is the time to make sure you’re nailing your customer service on social.

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Here are five things you should be doing to make sure you’re solving problems, keeping customers happy and continually improving your customer care.

Consider your channels

30% of social media users prefer social customer care to phoning customer service. But how do you know which channels to focus on? The short answer is whichever channels your customers use. If you don’t know this already, you can glean this information by listening out for mentions of your brand across popular social channels, or simply by asking your customer base via surveys.

From Twitter’s customer service features to Facebook Messenger’s customer care options, there are plenty of ways to integrate your customer support with your existing social media presence – and they’re improving all the time.

Train up your team

Customers are four times more likely to go to a competitor if they’ve experienced poor customer service. So your team needs to be prepared to go the extra mile for people who get in touch with queries – especially in such a public forum.

Remember, when customer care goes wrong, things can get pretty nasty – and your brand’s reputation is likely to nosedive as a result. Make sure you equip your in-house team with everything they need to do their jobs properly, or outsource the work to specialists if you don’t have the internal resource.

Focus on responding quickly

According to a survey of social media users, a quick response is worth more than an effective one. 17% of customers recommend a brand that provides a slow but effective solution, whereas 33% of consumers recommend a brand that provides a quick but ineffective response.

That might not make complete sense, but there’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re being ignored. 53% of customers expect brands to respond to their tweets within an hour – so even if you can’t solve their problem right away, make sure your customers feel like they’re being listened to. Reply to their initial query, ask for more information and let them know you’re following it up.

Humanise your brand

Don’t forget that people respond best to people. Address customers by their names, and respond with genuine empathy and concern. Be honest – admit when something is your fault, and don’t try and hide behind jargon and formality.

Some of the best examples of digital customer service involve brands showing their human side – using humour to diffuse a situation, for example, or going above and beyond to please a customer. That’s how brand advocates are made.

Learn from your customers

They’re the reason you’re in business, after all – so listen carefully to what they have to say. Ask for feedback on your customer service efforts where you can (and where it’s appropriate) and use social listening tools to monitor general sentiment towards your customer care. The more detail you can glean, the more insight you’ll have on where you can improve.

Need a hand with your social media customer service? Get in touch with our experienced team of social experts or download our free eguide on using social media as part of your customer service strategy.